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Record of Proceedings

Oakland Finance & Management Committee Meeting - January 27, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, January 27, 2026
BodyOakland, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:33:52

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Thank you.

0:30

Thank you.

1:00

Thank you.

1:30

Thank you.

2:00

good morning and welcome to the finance and management committee meeting of Tuesday January

2:14

27th 2026 the time is now 9 30 a.m and this meeting may come to order before before taking

2:21

roll I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda if you're

2:25

here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card please fill one out and turn one

2:29

into myself or a clerk representative no later than 10 minutes after the start of

2:33

this meeting or before the item is read into record registering to speak via

2:37

zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting time this meeting

2:41

came to order at 9 30 a.m. and speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10

2:44

minutes after making that time 9 40 a.m. we'll now proceed with taking roll

2:51

Sorry.

2:52

Council members Brown.

2:55

Present.

2:56

Council member Unger.

2:59

Here.

2:59

Council member Wong.

3:01

Present.

3:02

And chair Ramachandran.

3:03

Here.

3:04

Thank you.

3:05

We have four members present.

3:07

And before we begin chair,

3:08

do you have any announcements at this time?

3:11

No, welcome to the first finance committee of 2026.

3:15

Looking forward to a productive and positive year.

3:21

Thank you. Starting off with item number one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on December 9th, 2025, and we do not have any speakers on this item.

3:32

I entertain a motion.

3:34

Move approval.

3:39

Thank you. That was a motion made by Council Member Brown, seconded by Council Member Wong.

3:42

To accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on December 9th, 2025, on roll, Council Members Brown.

3:49

Aye.

3:50

Unger.

3:51

Aye.

3:52

Wong.

3:53

Aye.

3:53

And Chair Ramachandran.

3:54

Thank you, item number one passes with four ayes.

3:57

Now reading in item number two,

3:59

determination of schedule of outstanding committee items.

4:02

And we do have one speaker on this item.

4:06

To the administration, any changes?

4:09

No changes at this time, thank you.

4:12

Okay, we can move to public speakers.

4:14

Calling in the public speaker

4:15

that signed up for item number two, Mrs. Sato-Olobala.

4:19

I'm asking that the city administrator's annual report on spending contracts up to $250,000,

4:33

which has not been done since 2023, be brought to this body.

4:38

A report on business closures and how that has impacted revenue for the city.

4:45

A report on Democratic dollars.

4:50

The Ethics Commission is speaking as if in 2028

4:53

there will be revenue available,

4:56

but they've been informed by President Jenkins

4:59

there will be no money available in 2028

5:02

for democracy dollars.

5:04

A report on why Oakland was not included

5:07

in the state grant for $419 million for homelessness.

5:12

a report on outstanding invoices in the City of Oakland and lastly a report on

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Personnel Matters████████9%
Community Engagement██████7%
Workforce Development██████7%
Procedural█████6%
Active Transportation█████6%
Affordable Housing███3%
Racial Equity███3%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Finance and Management Committee Meeting Summary

The Finance and Management Committee of the Oakland City Council met on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 9:30 AM to discuss items including the Police and Fire Retirement System (PIFRS) investment portfolio, credit ratings for Measure U bonds, and a six-month update on the citywide strategic plan. The meeting featured presentations from city staff and external consultants, public comments, and votes to receive and file reports.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved draft minutes from the December 9, 2025 committee meeting (4-0 vote).
  • Accepted the determination of schedule of outstanding committee items as-is (4-0 vote).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item #2 (Outstanding Committee Items): Ms. Sato-Olobala requested a city administrator's annual report on spending contracts up to $250,000 (not done since 2023), reports on business closures impact on revenue, democracy dollars, homelessness grant exclusion, outstanding invoices, and fiscal spending related to the NSA.
  • Item #3 (PIFRS Portfolio): Ms. Otola-Olabala expressed confusion about a ballot measure changing board membership, questioning the validity of the age component argument and suggesting many beneficiaries may not live in Oakland, making in-person service inconvenient.
  • Item #4 (Bond Ratings): Ms. Olabala criticized the timing of applying for bonds before receiving a credit rating report and urged immediate budget reductions rather than waiting until 2027, cautioning against cutting investments in affordable housing, public safety infrastructure, parks, libraries, and senior centers.
  • Item #5 (Strategic Plan Update):
    • Ms. Olabala questioned the city's ability to achieve racial equity for African Americans, expressed concerns about fraud, nonprofit evaluation, lack of housing authority oversight, grant credibility, gentrification, sanctuary city planning, NSA sustainability, and OUSD partnership.
    • David Boatwright (District 4) advocated for authorizing only balanced-budget spending, emphasizing more manpower for project oversight to limit over-expenditures, citing past missteps on the tiny homes project and Fire Station 4.
    • Kevin Daly (Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, speaking personally) expressed concern that dismantling the Department of Transportation and moving parking to Finance would harm transportation decision-making, noting the city failed to provide information to BPAC and may violate MTC 4108, risking funding.
    • Blair Beekman commended the city's three-year budget deficit plan, suggesting comparison with San Diego, and emphasized not slashing social services.
  • Open Forum:
    • Ms. Olabala cited a 1994 Barbara Jordan report that recommended cutting immigration by one-third to protect low-skilled African-American workers, which was ignored.
    • Kevin Daly noted the city administrator announced moving parking from transportation to finance effective February 7, 2026, requesting postponement of a council report; he urged the council to act.
    • Blair Beekman asked for six-month updates on ALPR vendor procurement, suggesting reduced surveillance placement can maintain public safety, and urged community involvement beyond OPD.

Discussion Items

  • Item #3 (PIFRS Investment Report): Taylor Jenkins (PIFRS investment/operations manager) and David Sandwich (Makeda Investments) reported the fund had $498 million in investments as of September 30, 2025 (preliminarily $500 million as of December 31), with a 12.4% return. The fund is 100% funded per the July 1, 2025 actuarial evaluation. The portfolio has been de-risked to over 60% fixed income. Councilmember Wong asked about comparisons to East Bay MUD; Sandwich explained that an open, active pension system takes on more equity risk, while PIFRS is closed with 585 members (average age ~80s) and will continue de-risking.
  • Item #4 (Bond Ratings for Measure U): Jaime Trejo (PFM Financial Advisors) presented the city's credit ratings (Moody's: AA2; S&P: AA-; Fitch: A) with negative outlooks due to structural budget imbalance, declining reserves, and high fixed costs. He outlined a roadmap to improve ratings: increase general fund reserves (currently 7.5% versus GFOA-recommended 17%), eliminate deficit spending, and achieve positive operating performance. The December 2025 bond sale was 2x oversubscribed ($638M orders for $335M offered), achieving a TIC below 4% for tax-exempt bonds, and a refunding saved taxpayers $4.7 million. Bradley Johnson (Finance Director) emphasized that budget decisions will directly impact future ratings.
  • Item #5 (Strategic Plan Six-Month Update): Monica Davis (Deputy City Administrator) reported on progress on five strategic priorities: streamlining operations, cross-departmental collaboration, enhancing communication, optimizing workforce management, and aligning budget with citywide priorities. Teams presented updates:
    • Streamline Operations Team: Working with HR and contracts to improve efficiency, including acting on external contract audit recommendations.
    • Cross-Collaboration Team: Progress on working groups (community engagement, data collaboration, housing plans) and public safety coordination (AC Alert updates, disaster council).
    • Communication Team: Developing a monthly interdepartmental newsletter; midway through action items.
    • Workforce Management Team: Focusing on the employee lifecycle (recruitment, onboarding, career growth, performance management, succession) and resource access, with exploration of core leadership development and workload management.
    • Budget Alignment Team: Launched an evaluation criteria tool to be piloted with DOT, DVP, Fire, and IT during the mid-cycle budget, integrating equity impact statements. Councilmembers emphasized fixing hiring practices (Councilmember Unger noted 30-year issues) and using technology (Councilmember Wong suggested bias risks in criteria).

Key Outcomes

  • Item #3 (PIFRS): Motion to receive and file the informational report passed 4-0.
  • Item #4 (Bond Ratings): Motion to receive and file the informational report passed 4-0.
  • Item #5 (Strategic Plan Update): Motion to approve staff recommendations and forward the report to the February 3, 2026 City Council consent agenda passed 4-0.
  • Tribute: David Jones (Treasury Administrator) announced the passing of John Speakman, a long-standing PIFRS board member of ~20 years and 25-year firefighter; a resolution will be presented at the next board meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. good morning and welcome to the finance and management committee meeting of Tuesday January 27th 2026 the time is now 9 30 a.m and this meeting may come to order before before taking roll I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda if you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card please fill one out and turn one into myself or a clerk representative no later than 10 minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record registering to speak via zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting time this meeting came to order at 9 30 a.m. and speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10 minutes after making that time 9 40 a.m. we'll now proceed with taking roll Sorry. Council members Brown. Present. Council member Unger. Here. Council member Wong. Present. And chair Ramachandran. Here. Thank you. We have four members present. And before we begin chair, do you have any announcements at this time? No, welcome to the first finance committee of 2026. Looking forward to a productive and positive year. Thank you. Starting off with item number one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on December 9th, 2025, and we do not have any speakers on this item. I entertain a motion. Move approval. Thank you. That was a motion made by Council Member Brown, seconded by Council Member Wong. To accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on December 9th, 2025, on roll, Council Members Brown. Aye. Unger. Aye. Wong. Aye. And Chair Ramachandran. Thank you, item number one passes with four ayes. Now reading in item number two, determination of schedule of outstanding committee items. And we do have one speaker on this item. To the administration, any changes? No changes at this time, thank you. Okay, we can move to public speakers. Calling in the public speaker that signed up for item number two, Mrs. Sato-Olobala. I'm asking that the city administrator's annual report on spending contracts up to $250,000, which has not been done since 2023, be brought to this body.

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